May 17, 2018. Trois Rivieres to Quebec City, Quebec.

We had a wonderful breakfast this morning! First there was freshly pressed apple juice (so different from a juice box), then pear yogurt drizzled with dark chocolate, a basket of fresh warm baguette and croissants, then an egg and cream dish, then chocolate cake! All accompanied by French Press coffee.

We checked out of the B and B and drove back to the parking garage in Trois Rivieres, where we still had 3 hours left of free parking. The woman at the tourist office gave us more information and we were on our way. Our next stop was at the Archives Library where a nice young man helped us find maps and property records. We then drove to St. Louis Cemetery where we found a lot of family names: Cloutier, Robert, Gauthier, Lamy, Rivard, Trottier.... These are not our ancestors, but our cousins.

Next stop was at Cap-de-Madeleine. Pere Jacques Bateaux founded this mission in 1635. Many of our ancestors were baptized, married and buried from Cap-de-Madeleine. Pere Bateaux was killed by the Iroquois in 1635, but his mission lives on today.

Throughout this trip I have hoped to connect with my ancestors, and finally felt the connection today when I read the plaque about the founding of Cap-de-Madeleine. I was overcome with emotion.

  

This is a huge place, with many quiet outdoor areas for prayer and contemplation. Although it is at the place of Cap-de-Madeleine, the new church is called Notre Dame de Cap.

The Basilica was spectacular inside and out. Then we drove to the old church, in a state of decrepitude.

We found the Cap-de-Madeleine Cemetery, full of family names, but all from modern times. We need to face the fact that we are not going to find our ancient ancestors' gravestones. They are gone.

The Ste. Genevieve-de-Batiscan church is another one on many of our family records. There was a plaque placed there in 1985 commemorating the 300 year anniversary of this parish.

Ste. Anne de Perade parish also dates from the 1600s and many of our records contain this name.

The cemetery was just outside the community of Ste. Anne-de-Perade and was full of family names.

Brothers Louis and Francois Hamelin married sisters Antoinette and Madeleine Aubert in the 1660s. Their grandchildren married each other, thus the brothers-who-married-sisters are all our 7th great grandparents. The mill they owned at Grondines is still standing and we stopped to see it.

St.Charles-de-Borromeo Church is also at Grondine with a cemetery full of our cousins.

We then drove to see the church at St. Alban, the last place our great grandfather Edward Rivard lived before moving to Newport Michigan.

Now we are at a B and B in Quebec City. It took all day to get here, what with stopping at every church and cemetery along the way, but this is why we are here!